This study explores how the Fes Medina's traditional courtyard house design has influenced urban form and has developed from its roots in the Andalusian and Islamic eras to a Westernized city in the 19th century. The study analyzes privacy, climate moderation, and socialization and poses the question of how courtyard houses of the city create the structure and hierarchy of the city. It employs a multi-scalar analysis, including a historical overview of the city, micro-scale spatial arrangements of individual houses, and meso-and-macro-scale mappings of the structure of neighbourhoods. The research shows that while individual courtyard houses agglomerate into dense fabrics in the three medinas to provide a seamless continuity between the private interiors and the public realm, they are also generative elements that provide evaporative cooling and cross-ventilation to improve thermal comfort and facilitate social order. The conclusion of this study is that the urban form of the Fes Medina reflects the socio-cultural and domestic values of the city, and it advocates for a re-evaluation of contemporary applications of courtyard house designs to address issues relating to privacy and environmental sustainability.